Another Mandatory Vacation Failure
by Rescue45
Summary: Mandatory vacation usually don't go well. When Morgan takes Reid camping disaster strikes. It's up to Reid to save Morgan's life.


Another Mandatory Vacation Failure

In the BAU room, each member of the team was at their own desks getting for yet another mandatory vacation. Each is remembering their own experiences of previous vacations. The department requires these, so called, "mandatory vacations" every year and almost every year something happens to bring them back. None of the members of the team wanted to say it out loud, but each was wondering what would happen this year.

Morgan asks Reid, "So you'll go with me?"

"Yeah, I'll go. Just don't expect too much from me. I've never been before."

David asked "Where are you two going?"

Reid put a book into his briefcase and said, "Morgan and I are going camping on our mandatory vacation. I've never been."

Hotch said, "Reid, you've never been camping?"

Reid said, "Not like you think. I attended science and math camps when I was a kid but nothing like camping out. We stayed in dorms at colleges."

Prentiss asked, "So Derek, how did you get him to agree to go?"

Morgan said, "It was easy I just asked and he said he'd go."

Reid, "I'm actually looking forward to the experience."

Hotch said, "Well let's just hope we all actually get to take the week off like we're supposed to."

Morgan said, "Yeah, well we'll be so far out we won't be able to be reached. No cell phones where we're going."

Reid looked a little nervous.

Derek looked at him and said, "Don't worry kid I'll take care of you." Everyone chuckled.

David said, "What's everyone else doing?"

Hotch said, "I'm looking forward to spending time with Jack. We are going to Disney World in Florida. I want to spend some real good time with him this time."

Prentiss said, "I'm actually going to stay here in DC. Believe it or not, I have not been to any of the museums. I'm going to be a tourist for the week."

JJ said, "This is the first time I have to take the mandatory vacation. I'm spending time with my family."

Hotch said, "What about you Dave? Any plans."

Dave said, "I've never been good at planning mandatory vacation time. Something will turn up, it always does."

Reid said, "We usually get called back. In the 8 years I've been with the BAU, we've actually only got two of these weeks off."

Morgan said, "You'd think by now they would quit making us take them."

Reid said, "I guess some people never learn."

Morgan looked at Garcia and said, "What about you, Princess?"

Garcia said, "I'm spending time with Kevin. I don't know what he has planned, but he's planned something."

Hotch said, "Well ok, sounds like everyone has a plan. Please let me know if anything changes. Not to keep tabs on you guys, but you know how things go. I may need…" He didn't finish that statement but said instead, "Well you know how things go. I hope everyone has a good time."

Prentiss said, "Morgan, bring Reid back in one piece, okay. Don't be too hard on him."

Reid said, "I've read up on camping; it doesn't seem that bad."

Derek chuckled, "You'll be fine kid, don't let them scare you"

Reid said, "I'm not scared."

Hotch said, "Everyone have fun." They all gathered their things and left. Morgan told Reid, "I'll pick you up at 0800 tomorrow ok." Reid shook his head.

The next day Derek came to Reid's and Reid had a sleeping bag roll ready. He had a back pack with extra supplies in it. It was a small size. Reid knew he was not a very strong man but figured he could carry this much.

Derek looked at his pack picked, it up and said, "This isn't too bad but Reid, you won't need the tent. Mine is big enough let's take this off okay?" Reid nodded in agreement. Morgan took the tent off and looked at the rest of what Reid had packed. It was a lot of the same things he had packed, like pans to cook in. Reid also had packed a few extra shirts, most of them white. Morgan held one up and just looked at Reid.

"I like wearing clean shirts, you know that." Morgan put it back in the pack and smiled.

"Reid, I have this stuff too. All you really need is this sleeping bag and your clothes."

"I wanted to carry my share."

"We don't want to carry too much. I'll put some of my stuff in your pack if you want."

They carried his things out to Morgan's car. Morgan noticed that Reid was wearing his gun and said, "Yeah, I got mine on too. Guess we really can't fully get away from work huh." Reid nodded.

On the way Reid asked, "Just how far will we be hiking?"

"Not far today. We should get there and set up camp for tonight before dark. We'll go the rest of the way tomorrow."

He had done a lot of things in his life but had never gone camping. Still he trusted Morgan that it would be fun. He was excited and a little nervous at the same time. Morgan sensed that and said, "Don't worry." He smiled at Reid. "I won't be that hard on you. This is supposed to be for fun. It's not a workout."

Prentiss slept in then decided to go on the bus tour of DC. She had spent a lot of time in DC but had never seen the outside of the office buildings or any of the museums. She wanted to see Arlington Cemetery too. She had seen so many of the buildings as she drove by them all time and was looking forward to just acting like a tourist. She got her camera and left her place.

Hotch was sleeping when Jake came in and jumped on him and said, "We really get the whole day together, Dad?"

"You bet, Son." Hotch had not told his son he had the whole week off. Jack didn't know where they were going. Hotch packed a suitcase for his son the night before, he fixed breakfast for the two of them then they got dressed. He put his gun on. He always had both of his guns with him. He knew with his job he could be a target anytime. He has special permission to carry his weapons anyplace, even on planes, because of his job. He is really never off the clock. He always has to be on his toes and aware of his surroundings. That comes with being a good profiler. The cab came to take them to the airport. Hotch was hoping he really could spend this time with Jack. It has been hard raising Jack without Haley. He was lucky to have his sister-in-law to help with Jack. She was there for them anytime night or day whenever she was needed. Hotch had asked her if she wanted to go with them, but she said she knew that Hotch needed the time with Jack alone. As they were getting into the cab, Hotch looked at his son and pulled out the tickets to Disney World and showed them to Jack and said, "Son, this is where we are going."

Jack said, "Disney World, Wow. Thanks Dad. This is going to be the best vacation ever."

Hotch smiled and said, I hope so, Son."

It took Morgan and Reid about six hours by car to reach the small store where they were going to park the car during their trip. Morgan told Reid, "We need to go inside and tell them where we are going. That way someone knows where we are if we don't come back." Reid nodded and the two went inside. Morgan went to the counter and told the clerk, "My friend and I will be hiking for three days. We are going to the falls by way of the Logan's trail."

The clerk said, "Okay. Sign here please." Morgan took the book and signed it.

The clerk smiled and said, "No one else is up there that we know of so it should be peaceful. It's a beautiful spot. Have fun guys. Your vehicle will be safe right where it is."

Morgan and Reid both thanked the clerk before they left.

They got their gear out of the car and headed towards the trail. Morgan knew Reid wouldn't be able to keep with his usual pace so he walked slower, to match Reid's. He wanted Reid to have fun on this trip.

They had been walking for a few hours when Morgan stopped and said, "This is it, kid."

Reid said, "This is where we're staying tonight? We're here already? I'm not really even tired."

"Reid, I told you I wasn't going to be hard on you. I want this to be a fun and relaxing experience. Tomorrow we will go a little further than we did today but it's an easy walk."

"What do we do now?"

"We set up the tent and start a fire. Then I will cook you dinner." Morgan showed Reid how to set up the small two-man tent. The two of them collected some firewood and Morgan attempted to make a fire by rubbing two sticks together.

Reid laughed at him and said, "Why don't you just use matches? You did bring them didn't you?"

"Well I was trying to impress you but it's not working."

"Hey, let me try. I read about how to start a fire without matches."

Morgan moved over and handed Reid the two sticks he had been using. "Knock yourself out."

Within a couple of minutes had sparks going. "I did it, hey Morgan, I did it."

Morgan put his head down and muttered under his breath, "He'll never let me live this one down."

"What?"

Morgan looked up and said, "I said that's great. Good job kid."

"Yeah, that's what I thought you said." Both men laughed. Reid continued to work on the fire. He put some small dry leaves on the sparks followed by small dry branches. Within a few minutes he had a nice size fire going.

Morgan fixed a pot of stew. Reid was surprised at how good it was. They roasted marshmallows too. They just sat talking about a lot of things. Reid looked at the night sky. He said, "It really is pretty, isn't it. The sky, I mean."

"Yeah, it sure is. That's one of the reasons I like this place so much." It was getting late. They went into the tent.

Reid said, "Thank you for bringing me up here. I am glad I came."

"You're welcome. Wait till you see the falls tomorrow. It is such a beautiful place. It makes me almost forget some of the horrible things we see. Sometimes I go there in my mind to escape."

"Sounds nice." As they drifted off to sleep each was thinking about the falls and the other sites they would see the next day.

The next morning Reid added more wood to the fire. As Morgan made breakfast he told Reid, "We're in no hurry to leave so take your time." They ate and helped each other pack up their things. They both walked to a creek and got water to put the fire out. Morgan had brought two three gallon containers. He carried them empty because he knew they would too heavy to carry full and he knew there was a stream. Now they needed to fill them half way because they would need the water before they got to the falls later today. Reid and Morgan each carried one container of the half filled containers. Reid assured Morgan that he could do it. His pack was lighter than Morgan's anyway. They walked slow and just enjoyed the hike and each other's company. They took a break for lunch. Morgan had brought more than enough for them for the few days they would be gone. They finished their sandwiches and started walking again. They made sure the only thing they left behind were their footprints. Morgan had brought plastic bags to place all their trash in.

"Morgan, what kinds of animals are around here?"

"Well kid, we are in the woods so there are all kinds, but most of them will run from noise."

Reid sounded worried now as he asked, "How much noise should we make?"

"I would have thought that you would know all that stuff."

"I haven't read too many books about the woods. Just a little about camping."

"We'll be okay." He stopped a minute. They were at a point where they could look down into a valley and it was just beautiful. Morgan said, "Take a look at this site. It doesn't get much better than this."

Reid stopped and looked around. He said, "It really is beautiful up here." They just stood and admired it for a few minutes, before they continued walking. Reid was surprised at how well he was doing. He knew Morgan chose this path because it was the easiest, but he'd been walking the better part of two days now and was not tired.

They reached the falls Morgan had been talking about. It was probably the prettiest thing Reid had ever seen. He thought it was just breathtaking. The falls were by a warm spring so the water was warm almost year around. They changed into swimming trunks, and jumped into the water. They just had a nice relaxing time. It was good to get away from everything. Morgan was glad he brought Reid with him to experience this. This has been a favorite place of his since he found it about three years ago. They swam for a little while then changed into dry, clean clothes before they set up the tent.

They gathered the firewood and Reid had a nice fire started. It was almost dark when Morgan said, "I'm going to get some water."

"Do you want me to go with you?"

"No, you can just keep the fire going. We only need one of the jugs filled tonight." Morgan picked up one of the jugs and headed towards the stream.

Reid had just put more wood on the fire and was looking through the food Morgan had brought when he heard what sounded like a man screaming. He realized that it was Morgan screaming and he heard a single gunshot. Reid grabbed his gun and ran towards the sounds. Reid heard what sounded like an animal. He saw Morgan on the ground being attacked by a bear. The bear reach out its big paw and hit Morgan on the right leg and as Morgan fell to the ground, the bear also tried to bite him on the arm. As the bear was pawing and scratching at Morgan, he was trying to roll up into a ball covering his head with his hands. He rolled back and forth. The bear was making a lot of noise. Reid yelled at the bear.

Morgan yelled, "Reid shoot at him, get him off me!"Reid fired his gun in the air and the bear stood on his back legs, looked at Reid and gave an ear piercing growl that made the hair on the back of Reid's neck stand up. The bear started towards Reid. Reid afraid as he was, stood his ground and fired his gun twice more. Finally the bear retreated and disappeared into the woods. Reid gave a deep sigh of relief and ran towards Morgan. Morgan was lying face down in the dirt still curled up. He could see that he was bleeding badly. He said, "Please don't be dead." He carefully rolled Morgan over and noticed that he had several large lacerations, and a deep bite-looking wound on his right arm. Reid said, "Morgan, Morgan, are you alright?"

Morgan barley managed to ask, "Is it gone? Is the bear gone?"

"He's gone the gunshots scared him away. "

Morgan said, "Good, he probably won't be back." Morgan sighed and closed his eyes as he passed out.

Reid wanted to panic, he wanted to shout for help and scream. Inside he was really scared. Afraid that the bear would come back, scared that Morgan would die; scared of knowing he had to be the one to get them out of the woods and to safety. He took a couple of deep breaths to calm himself down. His hands were shaking. He knew what he had to do and he knew he didn't have time to let his fears control him. He had to take control of them. He looked at Morgan and did a head-to-toe rapid exam first and noticed his leg was the worst. Morgan was breathing and there was nothing blocking his airway. He was bleeding from several places, but his leg was the worst. It looked like an arterial bleed. He took off his shirt and tore it into several pieces. He used it to stop the worst bleeding. It took a lot of bandages to slow the bleeding down. He worked on his leg first then looked at his other wounds. He knew the rest of his wounds could wait until he got Morgan back to camp. He tried to wake Morgan up but he was unresponsive. He had to get Morgan back to the campsite. The bear would probably not come around the fire and other animals wouldn't either. Besides it was going to get cold and Morgan was probably going to go into shock soon. He picked Morgan up under his arms and managed to drag him to the camp. He had to stop to rest but he finally got Morgan back to camp. When he got back to camp he looked at all of Morgan's wounds. He had to tear off Morgan's shirt to see the rest of his injuries. There were more deep scratches but nothing else life-threatening. He took out more of his clean white t-shirts and tore a couple of them to use as bandages. He kept the fire stoked. He wanted a nice size fire throughout the night. It made him feel safer.

As he started working on the rest of Morgan's wounds, he thought about his options. He could try to start hiking out now and drag Morgan out, but it was already starting to get dark and if he started bleeding again, treating him would be next to impossible. He knew he could also easily get lost in the dark and he would have no way of keeping Morgan warm. He could stay the night at the campsite, treat Morgan's wounds, keep him warm throughout the night, and go in the morning. He could also treat Morgan throughout the night and go for help himself in the morning. He didn't like that option. He wanted to stay with Morgan. He knew if he was awake, he would tell him to leave him and go alone to get help, but to Reid, that was not an option he was willing to consider. He knew Morgan would have a better chance if he waited until sunup.

Reid elevated Morgan's feet using one of the logs. He knew that would help treat shock. He kept Morgan warm by putting his sleeping bag under him and covering him with the other one. He also covered his head. He tried to wake Morgan up but he would not respond. He finally treated all the wounds and rechecked Morgan's leg. The bleeding had stopped. Morgan had lost a lot of blood. Reid decided that he would stay the night at the campsite and take Morgan with him at sunup. Reid heated up some of the soup they had the night before. He needed to eat and he needed to try to get Morgan to eat too. He sat down beside him and shook him gently, "Hey, Morgan its Reid, wake up. I really need you to wake up."

Morgan moved a little, moaned from the pain and said, "How bad is it, Reid?"

"You want the truth, or do you want me to make up something that sounds good?"

Morgan said very weakly, "Give it to me straight."

"Here it goes. You have been unconscious for about two hours, you've lost a lot of blood, you have a large laceration on your leg that I believe is an arterial bleed, you have several other lacerations and scratches that are large enough to need stitches. I have stopped all the bleeding for now. I'm treating you for shock. You have a laceration on your chest, but it's not deep enough to interfere with your breathing so I don't believe you have a punctured lung or anything like that. I believe it will be safer to move you tomorrow as soon as the sun comes up rather than try to make it out tonight."

Morgan very weakly said, "That bad huh. Reid, leave me, go get help."

"I'm not just going to leave you. Tonight I will make something to get you out of here. Believe me, you will be better off if I stay with you. Besides, I'm not just going to leave you. You need to trust me this time"

Morgan was too hurt and weak to argue. He just nodded and said, "I'm cold, really cold."

"That's from the loss of blood. Drink this soup; it will help keep you warm. I need you to stay as still as you can so you won't start bleeding again. I'll keep the fire going. I promise I will keep you alive."

"Thanks kid." He drank some water and sipped most of the soup. Morgan moaned and looked like he was in a lot of pain.

"I know you're hurting and I'm sorry I can't do anything to stop the pain tonight."

"I'll be okay." He fell back to sleep. Reid took his pulse. It was 50 and regular. Reid knew that was a little low, but Morgan was in good health otherwise, he was also in good shape and his pulse may run low normally. With the bleeding stopped he was sure Morgan would be ok through the night, at least he hoped so.

Reid spent a good part of the night rigging up something to carry Morgan out on. He knew he would never be able to drag him all the way back to the store. He looked around and thought about what he could do. He saw the tent and he knew he could use it to lay Morgan on. Then he saw two tree branches they were small but it gave him an idea. If he could find 2-3 branches that were long he could put the tent and sleeping bag over them and lay Morgan on it. He could tie them together with the rope Morgan had packed. Morgan had brought a small hatchet in case they needed to cut firewood. He looked around and found a couple of branches that were strong enough. He cut them from the tree and cut a few to lay vertical too. Then he cut the rope the right size. After he finished the frame, he used the tent to cover it. In the morning, he would put one of sleeping bags on top of the tent and cover Morgan with the other one. He knew it may not be very comfortable, but it would work. This took Reid about three hours to finish. Reid was impressed with himself when it was done.

He knew he could not carry all the equipment they both had carried in. He looked through what they had and decided what he would need. He would leave the rest behind and send someone back for it later. He looked through the supplies and kept all the food, the hatchet, first aid kit, a couple of pans to cook in, one of the water jugs, and a few other things. It was late and he was really tired. He knew he needed sleep too or he would never be able to get Morgan out in the morning. He sat beside Morgan and said, "Hey, I'm just checking on you. I need to make sure you're not bleeding again."

"Reid, listen if I don't make it…"

Reid stopped him, "Are you saying you don't trust me?"

Morgan said, "It's not like that but if…"

Reid cut him off again and said in as firm a voice as he could muster, "Morgan, you listen to me this time. You are hurt and it's bad, but you will get through this. I can and will get you out. I just have to wait until morning. I can't risk moving you tonight."

Morgan said, "I do trust you, kid. I'm sorry. Hey, you need to get some rest too."

Reid said sympathetically, "You got nothing to be sorry about. I will turn in after I check you." Reid looked at Morgan's wounds. The bleeding was still stopped for now and he felt he could rest a little before the sun came up. Reid put on the sweatshirt he brought and leaned against the tree close to Morgan and the fire. He fell asleep quickly.

In the morning Reid woke up about the time the sun came up. He rubbed his eyes, stood up and went to check on Morgan. Morgan had a temperature, his pulse was lower and he was weak. He could barely talk. He looked at his leg; it was bad. His leg and arm were already infected. Morgan must have saw the concern in Reid's face because he said, "It's infected isn't it?"

"Morgan, I'm not going to lie to you, okay."

"Give it to me straight."

"Your leg and arm are both infected and it's bad." and he stopped.

Morgan weakly said, "Can you do something? Come on Reid use that brain of yours and help me here."

Reid looked at Morgan, took a deep breath, looked him straight in the eyes and said, "Morgan, there may be a way to save your leg."

Morgan cut him off, "Save my leg, you mean it's that bad?"

Reid just put his head down and said, "Yes, it is. I can try to save it but it will…" Reid stopped in mid sentence.

"Let me guess, it will hurt like hell."

"Yeah, it will."

"What is it? What do you need to do?"

"First, I need to put a really hot towel on your leg. The heat will draw out some of the infection. I also need to open the wound up and let the infection drain."

Morgan took a deep breath, thought a minute and said, "Reid, you do what you need to do. I trust you with my life." Morgan knew that Reid was right. The pain in his leg was really bad now. He hurt all over.

"I don't know if I can or even if I should try."

Morgan was having a hard time thinking clearly but said calmly and weakly, "Reid what will happen if you don't do anything? Tell me straight."

"You will probably lose your leg and if the infection spreads, it could kill you. Your arm is bad too."

Morgan eyes grew big in disbelief at what he was just told. He knew he was bad but didn't realize it was this bad. He said, "Given the choice of losing my leg, my arm, dying, or trusting you to save me, my bet is on you, kid. " He paused a minute, then added, "I know this isn't easy for you to do but please do what needs to be done. I hurt so much now; anything you do isn't going to make me hurt anymore."

Reid took a deep breath and said, "If I take the time to do this we may end up staying in the woods another night."

"Reid, what do you think you should do? I can't think straight right now."

"I think even if it means it takes us another day to get out of here, the risk is worth it. Morgan, I'm worried about you."

"I'm worried about me too. Just do it then. The longer we talk about it, the more time we're wasting."

"You're right. Give me a few minutes to get ready." Morgan nodded. He was not looking forward to this but he knew if anyone could save him right now it was Reid. He also knew Reid was right by not trying to leave in the dark last night. Reid cut up a couple more of his t-shirts and put them in the pan on the fire. It had to be hot but not so hot it burned Morgan's skin. He looked through the small first aid kit they had. It wasn't much but it had clean dry sterile dressings. He laid out everything he thought he would need. He wished he had pain medicine; Morgan really needed that. He asked Morgan, "Do you have a pocket knife?"

Morgan said, "Right front pocket."

Reid reached in Morgan's pocket and took out the knife. He put the knife blade in the fire for a couple of minutes then laid it on the dressings. Reid looked at Morgan and said, "I'm ready." Morgan reached out and grabbed Reid's hand and said, "Reid, of everyone I know, I'm glad you're the one that's with me right now."

Reid just looked at him and said, "I'm not sure I share that thought right now."

Morgan smiled and added, "Just do it okay."

Reid said, "Okay." He took another part of one of his clean shirts and gave it to Morgan and said, "Here bite on this. It will help." Morgan took it and put it in his mouth. Reid took a deep breath and so did Morgan. Morgan nodded at Reid. Reid took the hot shirt from the pan of water and put it on Morgan's leg. Morgan tried not to yell but it hurt. It hurt more than he thought anything could. He was glad he had something to bite on. Reid said, "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry."

Morgan said, "It's okay, keep going."

"For this part I need you to hold as still as you can." Morgan nodded. Reid took the knife and made an incision in Morgan's leg to let the infection drain. That hurt Morgan even more than the hot cloth. The whole thing took less than 15 minutes. Reid wrapped up Morgan's leg in the clean sterile dressings from the first aid kit. He looked at Morgan's arm and said, "Morgan I have to do the same thing to your arm too, but it won't be as bad."

Morgan said weakly, "Just get it over with."

Reid nodded. He wiped Morgan's face and gave him some water to drink. He then put another hot dressing on his arm. He made a smaller incision in Morgan's arm. Morgan was in so much pain now he barely felt it. Reid gave Morgan a little more water to drink and said, "It's over now. Here drink this." Reid took a cool, damp cloth and wiped Morgan's forehead.

Morgan drank the water and said, "Thanks, Reid." Morgan fell unconscious. Reid covered him up with the sleeping bag and put out the fire. He got the cot he made ready and rolled Morgan onto it. Morgan never woke up. Reid was glad Morgan was sleeping. He knew his friend was in a lot of pain and there was nothing he could do about it except to hurry and get some help.

Reid took the few items he was bringing with them and put it all in a pack at the foot of the sled. He used it to raise Morgan's feet and hopefully help treat shock. He picked up the rope, put it over his shoulder and started walking.

Reid had been walking about two hours when he stopped to check on Morgan. He wanted to make sure his fever wasn't going up. He knew by now it should be going down a little. Morgan's leg was better. It was still bad, but it was better. He felt Morgan's forehead. The fever was still there but it had gone down at least a little. He wiped Morgan's forehead off with a cool, damp cloth again. Morgan woke up enough to drink a little water.

The trail was an easy one, at least it seemed like it was getting to the falls.

Reid walked another three hours but finally stopped. He woke Morgan up to give him more water.

Morgan looked around a little and said, "I'm still here, uh?"

"What, you doubted me?"

Morgan said weakly, "Not for a second, my friend. I actually feel a little better. I still hurt like hell, but feel better."

"Unfortunately, I can't do anything about the pain. You'll be in a hospital tonight I promise." Morgan went back to sleep. Reid rested only a few minutes and drank a little water. He got up and started walking again, pulling Morgan behind him. Reid was tired but knew he had to keep going. He needed to get Morgan out today. He didn't think Morgan would last another night in the woods. Reid started up an incline. It didn't look too bad; he held the rope tighter and continued. But he lost his footing on some loose rocks. The rope started slipping out of his hands. He managed to keep a good hold on the rope, but not before it burned both of his hands. He hollered in pain. He put Morgan down gently and looked at his hands. They looked as bad as they felt. He got out the water and poured some over his hands. Reid would not be able to pull the rope now. He had to think of something else and quick. He could hardly move his hands they hurt so much. He got some of the extra sterile dressings, wrapped his hands up and sat down. After a few minutes he looked through the supplies and made sandwiches for the two of them. It was hard with his hands hurting so much but they both needed to eat. He went to Morgan's side and handed him some water and the sandwich, "Morgan, drink this water and here's a sandwich."

"How we doing?"

"Just fine, we're just fine. Here, drink this."

Morgan took the water and noticed Reid's hand was bandaged. Morgan asked, "What happened?"

"Oh, it's nothing just a little scratch." Reid looked around and thought about what he could do. He had an idea. He could make some kind of harness out of the rope. It took him about 20 minutes to make it and even he thought it looked pretty functional. He put the rope harness on and started walking again. He had a long way to go if he was going to make it before nightfall. It was hard going. Reid is not a very big person and he has never been strong. He thought if the situation was reversed, Morgan could have picked him up and walked out last night. He felt bad that it was taking so long to get back to the store and to help. He wished he was stronger. He knew that if Morgan knew he felt like that, he would tell him he had to do what he was capable of and not what someone else could do.

He walked most of the day and he was making good progress. He was surprised that he was able to do this. The harness turned out to be a good idea. He could use his whole body to pull Morgan instead of just his arm strength. He stopped to check on Morgan again and give him more water. He woke Morgan again. "Hey, how are you feeling?"

"I've been better, that's for sure but at least I'm still alive."

"I'm going to keep you that way." He only sat a few minutes. His hands really hurt now but he couldn't give up; he couldn't give up on Morgan. He knew Morgan's life depended on him.

The sun had gone down about three hours earlier, but Reid knew he was only about another hour away and was sure he could make it. He was getting tired and hurting but he kept going. The moon was not full but it was enough to barely see. He was glad he was on a well marked easy path.

Finally Reid came to the edge of the woods. His heart was pounding. He forgot how bad his hands were hurting he was so excited about seeing the store and knowing help would be here soon. He said, "Hey, Morgan we did it. We're out of the woods. There's the store!" Reid put Morgan down and said, "I'll be right back. He didn't even wait for Morgan to reply. Reid dug the keys out of the pack, ran to the car, unlocked it, and picked up his cell phone that was in the trunk. He started to dial but there was no reception. He put the phone in his pocket. Reid ran to the store. It was closed and he had to break a window with a rock. He said, "Sorry, I'll pay for that later." He went inside. He picked up the phone and called for help. Then he called Garcia. He knew the rest of the team would want to know.

Garcia was at home asleep when the phone rang. Reid said, "Garcia, this is Spencer. I know it's late and we're on vacation but something happened. Morgan's been hurt."

"What happened? Where are you?"

"He was attacked by a bear yesterday, I've called for help and it's about half an hour away. I don't know which hospital he'll be taken too." He let her digest what he had just told her.

"Oh my God. Is he okay, are you okay? "

"He has a bad laceration on his leg and arm; both are infected. I stopped the bleeding, but it's bad. I think I managed to save his leg, but I'm not sure."

"What do you need me to do?"

"As soon as I find out what hospital he'll be at I'll let you know. I'd like you to contact everyone else and let them know."

"I'm on it. Call me back, okay."

Reid took a deep breath and said slowly said, "Garcia, it's bad. Real bad. The team will want to know."

"I'll let everyone know. Reid?"

"Yes."

"How are you?"

"I'm fine. I worried about him."

"Let me know where you'll be and I'll alert the rest of the team."

"I'm in a store now there is no cell reception where we are but I will call you back."

Reid looked around the store for some kind of pain medicine. The only thing he could find was Tylenol but he knew it was better than nothing. He also found some clean bandages and hydrogen peroxide and he took those too. He laid some money on the counter to pay for it and went back to Morgan. He said excitedly, "Morgan, I have help coming. They said they are sending a helicopter and will be here in about 25 minutes. I also called Garcia and let her know what happened." As he was talking he was using the peroxide and changing the dressings on Morgan's wounds. He gave Morgan a couple of Tylenol.

"Thank you Reid, I knew you could do it."

"How's the pain now?"

"It is there. I'm not gonna lie, this hurts more than being shot."

"Help is on the way. Garcia was pretty worried. She's going to call the others when I tell her what hospital you're going to."

"I can't begin to thank.."

Reid gave Morgan more water and said, "Don't think about it. Drink this water."

Garcia hung up from talking to Reid. She was worried about Morgan. It sounded bad. Reid does not exaggerate. He tells it like it is and if he said Morgan is in bad shape then she knew it was bad. She called Hotch first. He was their leader and she knew he would want to know. Hotch had already put Jack into bed when the phone rang. He knew it was too good to be true to actually get a whole week off without that phone ringing. He answered it. "Hello."

Garcia said quickly and excitedly, "Sir, you know I would never call you like this unless it was important."

"Garcia, calm down. I can barely understand you."

Garcia took a deep breath, slowed down and continued, "Reid just called me and said Morgan was attacked by a bear while they were camping. Sir, Reid said it's bad; he may lose his leg."

"What hospital?" Garcia told him she didn't know yet and that Reid was still waiting for the helicopter. He said, "Thank you Garcia. Let me know which one and I'll be there first thing in the morning."

Jack heard the phone ring and his dad talking he sat up in the bed and said, "Daddy, do you have to go catch more bad guys?"

"No, Son. This time a good guy needs help. Morgan was badly hurt and I think we should go see him tomorrow. Is that okay?"

"I like Morgan. I want to help him."

"Then how about tomorrow morning we go check on Morgan."

"Okay, Daddy."

Hotch smiled and said, "Good. Now you get back to sleep." Jack settled down and went to sleep. Hotch tried to call Reid but there was no reception.

Garcia called Dave and the rest of the team. Everyone said they would be at the hospital in the morning as soon as they knew which one. Garcia, Dave, JJ, and Prentiss were all in D.C. and could take the company jet. They all agreed to meet at the airport at six a.m.

Reid could hear the helicopter and saw the lights now. Reid said, "Morgan, there it is. It's here." Morgan just barely opened his eyes and looked at Reid; he gave him a little smile.

The helicopter landed and 2 paramedics got out carrying a small bag. Reid walked over to them and gave them a status report. He quickly told them about the attack, all of Morgan's injuries and what interventions he had done. The paramedics went to Morgan and looked at him. They took his blood pressure and checked on his wounds. The bleeding was still controlled. Morgan's blood pressure and pulse were low and he was dehydrated. One of the medics went back to get the stretcher. The other saw Reid's bandaged hands and said, "What happened?"

"I'll be fine." The medic took Reid's hand and uncovered the bandage and revealed an infected rope burn going across his palm. He motioned Reid to show him the other hand and Reid held it out. He had an infection in that hand too. The other medic arrived with the stretcher and they gently placed Morgan on the stretcher. Morgan looked at Reid and just reached out his hand and shook Reid's. Reid cringed, it really hurt but he didn't want Morgan to know just how bad his hands were. Reid got into the helicopter too.

Once they got Morgan into the helicopter, an IV was started on him and he was given pain medication through it. The bandages Reid did were checked again and the bleeding was controlled so they did not need to change them. Morgan was unconscious again.

As they were working on Morgan, Reid asked one of the medics, "What hospital are we going to and how is he?" They told him the name of the hospital.

One of them looked at him and said, "When did the attack happen?" Reid said, "About 26 hours ago." The medic looked at Reid and said, "You said you treated him?" Reid nodded.

The other medic looked up and said, "This is amazing. You did great work. It looks like he would have at least lost this leg or died if you hadn't opened this up."

"How is he now?"

The medic said, "I think your friend has a good chance. He'll need some antibiotics and probably will have to have surgery on that leg. We've given him some pain medication so he's not hurting as much. It will take about an hour to get to the hospital." Reid gave a sigh of relief.

He got his cell phone out of his pocket and called Garcia back. She let him know the team would be at the hospital as soon as they could in the morning. She wanted Reid to keep her updated on Morgan's condition. Reid told he would call back once he arrived at the hospital and knew how Morgan was. One of the medics rewrapped Reid's hands on the way to the hospital. He leaned his head against the window and slept the rest of the way.

When the helicopter landed at the landing pad at the hospital, it took no time getting Morgan into the emergency room. The nurse told Reid he would have to wait outside. The medic told the doctor that Reid needed to be seen too. A second doctor came over to Reid and said, "Hi, I'm Dr. Wilson follow me please. We'll go in here."

"I'm Dr. Spenser Reid." Dr. Wilson stretched his hand out to shake his hand. Reid lifted both his hands up to show the bandages and said, "Sorry."

Dr. Wilson said, "I understand. You're not a medical doctor?"

"No, I work for the FBI. I'm a profiler. I do hold three doctorate degrees." Reid said as he followed him into the room.

Dr. Wilson took the bandages off his hands and said, "Those look like nasty burns, what happened?"

Reid told him how he got them. Dr. Wilson looked surprised and said, "You carried that guy out of the woods?" Dr. Wilson took an antibiotic cream out of a drawer and started to work on Reid's hands while they continued to talk.

"Carried no, but I made a cot and pulled him out."

"Wow. He's lucky to have a friend like you."

Reid smiled and said, "He knows." Dr. Wilson looked at Reid's hands and said, "Both of your hands are badly infected, as you know. I'd like to keep you overnight for observation and start you on antibiotics. Before you object, do you have any place else to stay?"

"I don't have any place to stay and thank you."

"We'll keep you just overnight. We'll put you in the room next to your partner. You look like you're exhausted and could use the rest."

"I guess I do look pretty rough."

Dr. Wilson finished bandaging Reid's hands and said, "That should feel better now. You'll need to take antibiotics for ten days and I'll give you something for the pain but you should be fine in a few days."

"Thanks, but I don't need the pain medication. Can I check on Morgan?"

"Sure, follow me. We'll get you admitted and we'll check on him." He showed Reid his room first then they walked into the room Morgan had been taken too; it was empty. Reid's heart sank.

Dr. Wilson asked the nurse, "Where is Mr. Morgan?"

The nurse said, "Oh he's in surgery right now. Then he'll be brought back here."

Reid took a couple of good deep breaths. The nurse asked, "If you'd like to go to your room, I'll come get you when he gets back."

Reid said, "Yes, please, I don't care what time it is either I want you to wake me, okay?" The nurse promised she would. Reid went to his room. The nurse gave him some hospital scrubs to put as his clothes were dirty. Reid laid down on his bed and fell asleep instantly without changing. About two hours later a doctor came into his room and said, "Dr. Reid."

Reid woke up suddenly sat up he said, "Yes?"

The doctor said, "Your friend, Mr. Morgan, is going to be just fine. His leg and arm are infected and they needed debridement. He has a total of over 300 stitches, he was hurting but is resting comfortably now. I must say you did an amazing job in the field. I have no doubt that he would have lost that leg or maybe even his life without your quick thinking. That infection could have killed him. He will be laid up a while, but he will be fine." Reid held out his hand to shake the doctor's and pulled it back and said, "Maybe not, sorry. Thank you doctor. Can I see him now?"

"Sure he's in the next room on the right. But don't stay too long; it's late and you both need the rest."

Reid walked to the next room. He opened the door to Morgan's room. He saw him lying in the bed with an IV in his arm that was connected to a bag of normal saline, a bag of antibiotics and a third bag that contained pain medication. He also had his leg and arm bandaged. He had stitches in both arms, his chest, and according to the doctor, his back. Reid pulled a chair up to the side of his bed and said, "See, we made it, Morgan. I told you we would."

Morgan woke up when he heard him and said,"Reid I'm going to be okay, thanks to you. The doctor said what you did saved my life, not just my leg."

Reid just bowed his head and gave a sheepish grin. Reid said, "I'm just sorry it took so long to get you out of there."

"Don't sell yourself short. No one else could have done what you did. I meant what I said about being glad you were there."

"I called Garcia and told her to let the others know what happened. They will all be her as soon as they can. Right now you need to get some sleep." Reid covered his friend up and left the room. He then called Garcia and Hotch and told them everything the doctor had said. He let them know that he had been admitted for the night. Garcia said she and the others would be there in the morning. Reid went back to his room and fell asleep just about the time his head hit the pillow.

The next morning the whole team showed up by 10 o'clock. Reid and Morgan were still asleep. The team went to the nurse's station and asked to see Morgan and Reid. David said, "I'll go see Reid if the rest of you check on Morgan."

David walked into Reid's room and saw him lying in the bed with both hands bandaged. Reid looked so tired, he didn't want to wake him but he lightly knocked on the door. Reid woke up. David walked over to the bed and said, "Hey, how are you?"

"Oh, I'm fine." As David looked at Reid's bandaged hands, Reid held them up and said, "This is nothing you should see the other guy," and smiled. He asked David, "Have you seen Morgan yet?"

"No, I wanted to check on you first. Everyone else is with him now. Reid, what happened?" He sat down on the side of Reid's bed.

Reid sat up and said, "Morgan was attacked by a bear. He received multiple lacerations. The one on his leg was the worst. I managed to stop the bleeding and get him out of the woods."

"What happened to your hands?"

"I was pulling him up an incline when the rope slipped I got rope buns on both hands, but I'll be okay."

"You pulled Morgan out of the woods."

"Yeah, but it took a long time. I should have gotten him out earlier."

"Look Reid, I hear Morgan's going to be fine thanks to you. Don't sell yourself short."

"I'd like to check on him now, okay?"

"Sure let's go."

Morgan had been sleeping when the team walked in. They gathered around the bed as he woke up. He said weakly, "Hey, you're all here."

Garcia said, "Of course we are."

Hotch said, "Where else would we be?"

Jack was standing next to Hotch and said, "Hi, Uncle Morgan."

JJ asked, "How are you? I mean we know you were attacked by a bear."

Morgan said, "I'm better now. I will live. Reid saved my leg and my life. You should have seen that kid work. He performed surgery on me right there in the woods at the campsite. He dragged me out of the woods all by himself."

Reid walked in and said, "I don't know that I would call what I did surgery." Morgan smiled when he saw Reid. Morgan did not know that Reid hurt his hands as bad as they were.

Reid's doctor came in and said, "I thought I might find you here. If you'll come with me I'd like to look at those hands."

Reid held out his hands and said, "These are my friends, they can see them."

Dr. Wilson nodded. It was unusual to examine a patient in another patient's room, but it's what his patient wanted. He unwrapped Reid's hands. Everyone saw how badly infected they were. Dr. Wilson said, "These are badly infected, as I'm sure you know. You need to make sure the bandages are changed daily and I'm keeping you on antibiotics for at least ten days." Reid just nodded. Dr. Wilson re-bandaged his hands.

Morgan gestured towards Reid's hands and said, "When did that happen?"

"Never mind me, how are you?"

Morgan gave Reid a stubborn answer my question look and said, "What happened to your hands?"

"The rope slipped, but I'll be fine. Now, how are you?"

"I'm still hurting but not nearly as much and am still pretty weak but I'm better."

Hotch asked Dr. Wilson "When can they be released to go home?"

Dr. Wilson said, "Well Dr. Reid is my patient and he is okay to be discharged as long as he follows up with his primary physician. It will be up to Mr. Morgan's doctor when he can be released."

Just then, Morgan's doctor came into the room and said, "I see your friends made it."

Morgan said, "Yeah, here they are." He introduced everyone. Hotch asked the doctor how Morgan was.

The doctor said, "Well, he probably would have died if Dr. Reid hadn't known what to do, but I believe he will be okay. I understand your desire to get back to D.C., so I will make you a deal Mr. Morgan."

Morgan said, "Okay, what is it?"

"I will arrange for your local hospital to take over your care, but you will need to travel by air ambulance. You need monitoring, IV fluids, antibiotics and the pain medication. I can make all the arrangements."

Morgan complained "But I feel better. I think I can travel in our jet."

The doctor said, "No. You really need to be on the IV fluids, and the other medication for a while and should be monitored by trained professionals."

Reid added, "Morgan, I think he's right. You need to be monitored for a while."

"Okay. I just want to get back to D.C."

Dr. Wilson said, "If you'll come with me, Dr. Reid, I will get your discharge papers ready and get you out of here."

Reid followed his doctor out of the room; he looked at the others and said, "I'll be right back."

Morgan's doctor said, "I'll start the paperwork and lineup the air ambulance. This should only take a couple of hours." He left the room.

Morgan said, "I had no idea Reid's hands were that bad."

Prentiss asked, "What surgery did he do?"

"My leg was badly infected and so was my arm. Reid cut up his shirts and put them in hot water and put them on my leg and arm to draw out some of the infection and then made an incision around the infected area to let the infection drain."

Garcia looked horrified and asked, "While you were still awake?" Everyone looked surprised. Morgan said, "Yeah, it hurt, but if he hadn't done it I would have lost my leg and probably would have died from the infection. It was that bad. He took good care of me and rigged up some kind of stretcher so that he could pull me out on. That kid pulled me out in just one day even after he hurt his hands. After all that, I think he's upset with himself that it took him so long for him to get me out of there. Talk to him on the way back will ya?"

David said, "We'll talk to him. He'll be okay. He knows he saved you. I think he's shook up by the whole thing."

Hotch smiled, "I can't believe you survived a bear attack."

"Me either."

David said, "I can. You were with Reid."

Prentiss added, "Maybe they will quit making us take mandatory vacations now." Everyone laughed.

The doctor came back and said, "We're all set to get you out of here first thing in the morning, Mr. Morgan. An Air Ambulance will be here at 0700 to fly you into D.C. An ambulance will meet you at the airport and take you to your local hospital. I'm sorry we couldn't arrange it for today but I think you should wait another day anyway. I promise we'll take good care of you here."

Morgan said, "That's okay. Tomorrow will be fine."

Morgan could hardly keep his eyes open. The doctor said, "You need a lot of rest the next few days." He looked at the team and said, "I'd like everyone to leave now. You can come back later."

Hotch said, "We'll be back, Morgan."

Garcia said, "I'll be back, handsome."

JJ and David said, "Later. Take care." After they all left, Morgan laid his head on the pillow and fell asleep quickly. He really was worn out.

Hotch looked at JJ and asked, "JJ, can you take Jack back to D.C. with you and take him to his Aunts? I'd like to stay with Morgan tonight and fly out with him in the morning."

JJ looked at Hotch and said, "Sure. No problem."

Hotch said, "Thank you." Jack was standing next to him and he asked Jack, "Is that okay with you, Jack?"

"Yes, Daddy. I know Uncle Morgan needs you."

Hotch smiled at his son and said, "Thank you."

Reid had just finished filling out his discharge paperwork. Hotch asked, "You good to go?"

"Yeah, I am. What about Morgan?"

David said, "Morgan will be transferred to D.C. in the morning."

Reid said, "I'd like to stay here until he goes too."

Hotch said, "I will stay with Morgan. Reid, I'd like you to go back tonight with the others and check with your doctor and get some rest yourself. You still look a little rough." Reid started to say something but he knew Hotch was right and just nodded.

Garcia asked, "Reid, are you hungry. Do you want to go to the cafeteria?"

Reid said, "Actually, I am hungry. I haven't eaten much the last couple of days."

JJ said, "I'll go too."

David said, "Yeah I could eat too." The whole team went to the cafeteria.

Everyone on the team but Hotch and Morgan was on the plane on the way back. Jack was asleep next to JJ.

David was sitting next to Reid who was just sitting with a blank stare. David asked, "What's wrong kid?"

Reid answered, "I just remembered we left a lot of things at the campsite. I need to find someone to go back and get it."

David said, "Ok. I'll contact the local sheriff and they can get it. No problem. What else is bothering you?"

Reid said, "Me? Nothing."

David said, "Come on, you know I know you better than that. You saw your best friend mauled by a bear, that can't be a good memory."

"It's not one I'm likely to forget that's for sure. I'm just glad he's going to be okay."

"He's only okay because you knew what to do and you did it. You know that, right."

"Yeah, I do know that."

"Morgan told us what you had to do. That couldn't have been an easy decision to make."

"I knew as soon as I saw the infection what had to be done. I'm okay; I really am. I know I made the right decisions."

"Don't ever doubt that." Reid laid his head back and fell asleep. David left him. He knew Reid was still tired.

David got up and sat next to Prentiss. Prentiss said, "Is he okay?"

"Yeah, he's okay just a little tired."

Garcia said, "I don't think I could have done what he did."

JJ said, "Me neither. I'm glad Reid was the one with Morgan."

The next day Morgan had been transported to the local hospital in D.C. Hotch traveled with him. The rest of the team was at the hospital waiting for him. When Morgan got to his room, the team was surprised to see how well he looked. He felt better too. He was still tired and weak- the doctor said he would be for a while. He would need to stay in the hospital at least a week, maybe a little longer. The doctor told everyone that the infection was not spreading. He needed to stay on the IV antibiotics and pain medication for a while longer but he would be alright. He also would need plastic surgery on his leg later when it healed, but his arm would be okay.

As they were talking to Morgan, Hotch's phone rang and he answered it, "Hotchner." Then he said, "Where?" A short pause then he added, "When?" The team looked at him and each other. They knew that meant another case. Hotch said, "Morgan and Reid are going to be out for this one, but I'll get the others. No. They're all here with me now I'll tell them." Hotch hung up.

JJ said, "Let me guess another case they need us on."

Hotch said, "Yes. We leave in an hour. Morgan, Reid you two are out of this one." Morgan just nodded. He knew he couldn't go. Reid started to protest being left behind but Hotch cut him off saying, "Your hands are badly infected, you can't risk making them worse working a case and I'm not going to let you- no discussion about it. Besides, you need a couple days of rest yourself."

Reid said, "Okay, but if you need me, call me." They all said their goodbyes. Garcia asked how Reid was going to get home. She had brought him there since his hands hurt too much to drive. Reid answered, "I'll sit with Morgan a while then call a cab. I'll be fine." With that the team left.

Morgan had drifted off to sleep again while Reid just sat beside him in the chair.

When he woke up, a couple of hours later, he looked at Reid and said, "So what do you think of your first camping experience?"

"I admit I liked parts of it." He was remembering the water fall and the night sky.

"I'm proud of you, and I thank you."

"I want to thank you too Morgan."

"Thank me for what?"

"For taking me with you. I learned a lot about myself the past couple of days."

"You did a great job. You surprised me."

Reid looked at Morgan and realized he was proud of himself. He said, "I surprised myself."

"And thanks for not telling them about the fire."

Reid smiled and said, "Oh, don't worry I will." They smiled at each other.

Reid handed Morgan some water and poured himself a cup to. He raised his cup as did Morgan and said, "Here's to us." Morgan said, "Amen."


End file.
